SkyQuest XT8i Intelliscope with Object Locator

SKU: 10018PRICE: 649.99

SkyQuest XT8i Intelliscope with Object Locator Description

Building on the XT8’s legacy of award-winning design and performance, Orion has now enhanced the world’s best-selling 8" Dobsonian with new technology that will literally change the way you view the heavens.

The SkyQuest™ XT8 IntelliScope gives amateur stargazers speedy access to more than 14,000 celestial objects with the push of a button on the optionally available IntelliScope® Computer Controller. Want to view the Whirlpool Galaxy? Press the button labeled “Messier”... select M51...whoosh! Wow! In seconds, there it is, dead-center in the eyepiece. Never been able to find that edge-on galaxy, NGC 891? Tap the “NGC” button, select 891...whoosh! You’re there. It’s that easy to locate and view object after object — so many more in an evening than you could ever find before.

The SkyQuest is the finest, most advanced 8" Dobsonian telescope on the market. Its 8" (203mm) parabolic primary mirror reaches deep into space to serve up jaw-dropping images of the planets, nebulas, clusters, and galaxies. The enameled steel tube boasts a 2" cast aluminum Crayford-style focuser that accepts both 2" and 1.25" eyepieces, a “navigation knob” for easy slewing, and now a 9x50 dovetail finder scope.

The Crayford-style focuser is smoother and more accurate than a rack-and-pinion focuser. Roller bearing construction eliminates image shift due to drawtube “rocking”. Upgraded metal focusing knobs with rubber grips give you a great feel, and a thumb screw for locking the focus position and adjusting tension give you greater control. The focuser includes an adapter for 1.25" eyepieces.

The tube rides on the newly streamlined, ultra-stable SkyQuest™ Dobsonian base — made in the USA, as always — moving smoothly on Teflon and UHMW polyethylene bearing pads. The CorrecTension springs have been replaced by a superior “disc brake” tension knob that keeps the tube perfectly balanced for point-and-view ease of use.

With so many cut-rate, “dumbed down” Dobsonian telescopes on the market, isn’t it nice to know there is one brand that keeps getting smarter? The Orion SkyQuest™ XT8 IntelliScope®. Put its brainpower to play for you. One-year limited warranty.

The IntelliScope® controller is NOT compatible with other encoder systems or other computerized telescopes. Previous SkyQuest™ versions or other Orion telescopes cannot be retrofitted for IntelliScope® compatibility.